Cambrian Heights Students Learn About Healthy Food and Active Lifestyle Choices Through Kids in the Kitchen

On May 3 the Junior League of Calgary hosted its 6th annual Kids in the Kitchen (KITK) event at Cambrian Heights School for over 175 students in grades four, five and six.   KITK is a fast-paced educational program that aims to inspire children to make healthy food choices and active lifestyle decisions. 



The morning and afternoon sessions allowed children to explore four separate learning areas: food preparation, creative dance and exercise, the Mission Nutrition Lab and a Food Group relay race. "I think the Food Relay was an excellent activity",  commented Rosemarie, a teacher at the school. "The students are learning about nutrition and the Food Guide as well as being very active. It fits the Healthy and Active Living theme perfectly!"   Principal Bonnie Bilcox stated "The opportunity you provided for the students was wonderful. Thank you for selecting our school for your program!"

Two fitness instructors, Dr. Emily Roback and Natalie Wynn-Dempsey, led students in moving and grooving to Hip-Hop and African-themed music in the gym.  Chef Will Kwong, Executive Chef, Premium Seating, Calgary Stampede, dazzled the students with his culinary skills and healthy recipes.
In the Mission Nutrition Lab, students participated in four interactive learning stations:

• Station 1 - Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide: Teaches the number of servings and serving sizes of each of the four food groups required each day for a healthy eating pattern. It uses a hockey puck to demonstrate some portion sizes.

• Station 2 - Rate Your Breakfast Cereals: Teaches how to read labels to make healthier food choices and what nutrients to look for when comparing breakfast cereals.

• Station 3 - Quench Your Thirst: Teaches the importance of making healthy drink choices. The station shows the amount of sugar in common beverage choices using sugar cubes.

• Station 4 Fast Foods: Teaches how to make healthier fast food choices by comparing the fat content of common meal selections, including "super sized" versus "regular sized" meals.

The impact of this day was felt not only by the kids but by our volunteers. "I was in the Mission Nutrition Lab in the afternoon where there seemed to be a lot of kids surprised about just how much sugar is in pop and how much fat is infast-food," commented Jessie Seymour. "Overall I feel that the different stations really had an impact on the kids (and the teachers)."  When one class was asked "What are the alternatives to fast food?" a grade 6 student piped up and said "slow food", which got quite a chuckle from everyone.

At the end of the fun day each student received a certificate for completing the program and a reusable tote bag full of recipes, nutrition bars, a Frisbee, a Booster Juice coupon, a pair of shoelaces, a hockey puck, a tennis ball, a KITK measuring cup, a Canada Food Guide booklet, a Smoothie Cookbook and the Healthy Eating and Active Living booklet to continue their learning at home.  Three copies of the Junior Leagues‘ In the Kitchen with Kids: Everyday Recipes & Activities for Healthy Living cookbooks were donated to the Cambrian Heights School library for the use of all the students and staff. A cheque for $100.00 was also donated to the school, which they will use in those school programs that support healthy life styles.

JLC mentioned on Volunteer Calgary's Blog

A member of our Community Advisory Panel, Janet Burstall, posted some wonderful comments about the Junior League of Calgary and voluntarism on Volunteer Calgary's blog today.  Check it out here http://volunteercalgary.wordpress.com/2011/06/01/volunteers-fill-the-need/

JLC 2010-2011 Highlights on YouTube

The video slideshow showing highlights from the JLC's 2010-2011 year is now available for you to view on YouTube!



To visit the JLC's YouTube Channel, click on the link below.

JLC YouTube Channel

Kids in the Kitchen on Shaw TV

For those of you who missed it or don't have Shaw TV, here is the video clip that they ran following our Kids in the Kitchen event on May 3rd! Congratulations ladies!

MUM Program at Highbanks Society - Update

This year, Junior League of Calgary partnered with Highbanks Society to implement the MUM program to help young mothers learn about "Healthy and Active Living" through the practice of good nutrition.

Our last MUM session of the year was held Tuesday, May 17 and the theme was "Welcome to Spring" - FINALLY! We made Linguini with Garlic and sautéed Shrimp as well as a Feta, Apple and Pecan Salad.  For dessert we made "Health by Chocolate Cookies" which contained pureed blueberries and spinach... YUM! The girls each received their own pasta pot to take home.

We are all looking forward to the grand opening of the new Highbanks Society kitchen. Our 2011-2012 sessions will be held there beginning in September. We also look forward to refining the scope and components of the MUM program and moving into the second year of the program‘s delivery. A big thank you to all the Junior League volunteers for contributing to the success of the MUM program this year!

Congratulations to the 2011-2012 JLC Board

At the April General Meeting of the Junior League of Calgary the slate was approved for the 2011-2012 Board of Directors. We are thrilled to announce the talented women who will be leading the Junior League of Calgary next year. They bring a broad range of experience as well as a strong commitment to the JLC.

• President Alice Gardner-Boreta

• President- Elect Lynne Christensen

• Finance Vice President Stacy Myers

• Community Co-Vice President Marilou Mitchell

• Community Co-Vice President Marie Starich

• Membership Vice President Lynne Christensen

At this time, the Sustainer VP position is vacant but can be filled by a majority vote by the 2011-2012 Board at a Board meeting. The 2011-2012 Board is looking forward to their first retreat and planning for next year.
We would also like to congratulate Christina Murez who has accepted the role of Treasurer for the 2011-2012 League year.  Special thanks to each of these women for stepping up to a leadership role in the JLC.

Dariel Bateman Speaks of Squares or Slices and Why at the April GM

Dariel Bateman, a former President of the Junior League of Calgary (JLC) and a current Sustainer, celebrated National Volunteer Week with JLC members at the April GM. Dariel captivated her audience with three topics: her volunteer history with the JLC, what she learned as a JLC member and her concerns for the JLC and other volunteer organizations.

Dariel joined the JLC after graduating from the University of Alberta because "my mother made me do it". She shared her husband’s memories of JLC phone calls at dinner that were mercifully brief and contained JLC code language, such as SOS, which meant squares or slices and related to the food to be brought to a meeting. During her volunteer life, the code took on other meanings too!

Dariel confessed that her Presidency was much more successful than her short tenure as Treasurer, where debits and credits were confounding, although she ultimately did learn to read a spreadsheet! As a JLC leader, she embraced the measured feminist perspective to assure that JLC meetings were held at venues where women were welcomed as full members.
Dariel learned key skills from the JLC that she has successfully used in her professional life as the Associate Director of Calgary Reads, as a member of the Board of Directors of Volunteer Calgary and of Calgary Family Services, and as a member of the National Advisory Committee Leadership Group for the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign. Dariel credits her involvement with the JLC for the following:

•  Her confidence to ask hard questions and to pose the questions in a manner that invites a response

•  Her knowledge of how to develop a collaborative partnership to problem solve

•  Her skill of building cases and presenting them succinctly to her target audience

•  Her appreciation of meeting etiquette

• Her ability to effectively run a meeting and to use consent agendas for committee reports

•  Her understanding of the value of networking

Dariel told attendees that voluntarism is as important now as it has ever been; volunteers put a human face on governmental policies and on communication in the digital age. But despite its importance, she presented her concerns about and for the JLC.

She has noted a decline in voluntarism within organizations and a failure of organizations to address community needs in multi-partisan and apolitical ways. Dariel encouraged the JLC to ask "Who are our competitors?" and "What does the JLC offer that others do not? Her biggest challenge to the JLC, however, is to ask "Why?" Without understanding the "why" and the ability to clearly articulate the "why", she advised that passion is limited.